An unwavering commitment to preserving families and supporting vulnerable communities through his nonprofit organisation Doxa Family Care has seen Thembani Gqiba become a Herald Citizens of the Year winner in the gender-based violence category.
The Rowallan Park resident expanded his youth empowerment initiatives into programmes that addressed family preservation through mentorship, advocacy and community development.
Gqiba, 48, said when he got the news, he had mixed emotions.
On the one hand, he wanted to celebrate the recognition, but on the other hand he felt there was so much that still needed to be done.
“I was at the office doing admin work when I got the news.
“It felt too good to be true, because of the work we do concerning gender-based violence.
“It is not one of the things that you get acknowledged for sometimes, we consider it as a no-go zone, because it is risky.”
“So to be considered a winner you get mixed emotions, that someone is noticing the work that you do, but at the same time, there is a part that says do you really celebrate, because just recently a police officer killed his wife and himself.”
He said he started the Doxa Youth Programme in 2007 and registered it in 2008.
Originally he intended to focus on the youth, but he realised that youths would have to go back to their families and some of the social ills they faced started from the family structure.
As the NPO grew, it evolved from the Doxa Youth Programme to Doxa Family Care.
“We then shifted our focus to the entire family unit around 2012, to help prevent youth from using drugs, abusing alcohol and being involved in crime.
“I was approached by the department of social development in 2012, because they wanted to develop a fatherhood strategy, because they saw there was an organisation that worked with men in Gqeberha.
“In 2013, we started working with our family care unit, focusing more on fatherhood.
“At the time, statistics were showing that there was a problem in SA with absent fathers,” Gqiba said.
He said the one thing that made him do what he did daily was his passion for preserving families.
“A highlight in my heart is that of a young man who came to our shelter as he was being hunted down by his people because he was gay.
“So, since our shelter for men also caters for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer community, we managed to assist him, we gave him shelter.
“We managed to work with the refugee office, the UN, up until we managed to get him a place in Canada where he is safe now.
“So that is one of our success stories.”
In August, they plan to train about 15 women survivors of GBV to start their own bakery business, through their bakery in Zwide that operates as a skills development centre.
“We focus on skills development for the women mostly so that they do not have to be dependent on the perpetrator.
“For young people, we have programmes for boys, we have a soccer academy called the Doxa Soccer Academy which is very successful in Soweto-On-Sea.
“We have about 80 boys in the programme,” Gqiba said.
“We see those boys about four times a week, our social workers are available to help them and their families while teaching them about respect as well as sexual health.”
The top 9 category winners will be celebrated at a prestigious gala awards evening on Friday September 4 at the Boardwalk International Convention Centre.
To support these remarkable winners, secure your seat or corporate table with the Herald marketing manager Berna Ulay-Walters — contact ulayb@theherald.co.za. Tickets are limited.
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